The Piggybackers Part 3

"She's my teacher, and she's a witch!"

Writer: Scott Gray
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 30 April 2020
Printed in: DWM 551

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

Miss Harcourt continues to lead a school trip with a twist. She's on an evil mission, but the ends to the means remain unknown. The Cuban Missile Crisis looms large, and Graham is being interrogated. What is so bad about the piggybacker label he is given?

Verdict

The Piggybackers was a decent continuation of the comic strip story from within the pages of Doctor Who Magazine. This issue itself looks set to be real barn burner of an edition despite the Coronoavirus lockdown and it seems to have provided something that looks quite spectacular! The idea of Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies having an interview is great in its own right, but the prospect of the pair of them interviewing each other is sublime. I really can't wait to read what they have to say – and ask! – about each other's eras and I'm sure it'll be a really good interview. I mean, after a brief flick through it takes up 10 pages which is very lengthy for DWM so it must be good. Also in the issue I am looking forward to an extended Production Notes from Chris Chibnall and I imagine he'll be talking about the new watch-alongs as there can't really be a huge deal to report regarding the current direction of the show. An update on Revolution of the Daleks, perhaps? Regardless, I always look forward to reading what he has to say. The feature on the lockdown watch-alongs looks really intriguing and the closer I get to the rewatch of The Girl in the Fireplace, the more disappointed I am that I haven't taken part in the previous televised episodes. I still need to catch up on the bonus content, but I'll get there! The Apocrypha feature is something I'm loving and I've never heard of the story that it discusses this month so I look forward to that. Public Image having a roundup of Series 12 will be intriguing as it has performed very well for a drama, but perhaps not so well compared with Doctor Who's past. Perspective is a big thing with ratings now. Jacqueline Rayner returning with a Doctor Feelgood section discussing some of the more enjoyable serials and episodes will be fantastic as she's hugely entertaining and I'm also very excited for The Caves of Androzani getting The Fact of Fiction treatment with it being one of the greatest ever Doctor Who adventures. All in all, it looks to be a top issue! Now, I'm not so sure this comic strip is going to end up being a top one. I'm not sure what it is, but there is something missing. My instinct tells me that it's having Miss Harcourt in the role of the villain because to me, despite her obviously having powers from the beyond, it just isn't enticing or interesting having an elderly woman as the enemy. I'm not all that bothered about what she's done to the school and I didn't much care about the look into her past and how she was told that this would be her last semester as a teacher. I'm more interested in what's going on with Graham and what exactly a Piggybacker is. It must be important if it's the story's title! The cliffhanger wasn't great with the emergence of a gargoyle-like creature on top of Harcourt revealing her power, but it wasn't familiar to me so it didn't have the desired impact. Yaz didn't have much to do in this one which was a shame, but her saving of the Doctor and Endicott from the school trip on legs was a lot of fun. Tommy's interaction with Endicott was also good. I did enjoy the characterisation of Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor, but I think it's about time somebody new had a go at writing her comic strips. Whilst good, they seem stale and repetitive in feeling which is a shame. Overall, still a somewhat decent continuation though!